A Potion Gone Wrong and Why It's Okay
by cliched02
Summary: When Neville's homework turns dangerous and he finds himself lost in the hallways of Hogwarts, That Strange Girl rescues him. Be sure to tell me what you REALLY think of it!


A.N. This is Katie, trying to contribute a bit to Beka and me's joint account. Meh. Yeah right. I can't write as fast or as well as her. In case you haven't figured it out yet, this is not exactly Canon, and is probably AU, considering Luna's appearance and Fred and George's as well.  
  
A Potion Gone Wrong  
  
It was a normal day in the Gryffindor common room. Normal, being defined as what happened often. If that was not someone's definition of normal, then they were quite out of luck.  
  
Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were sitting in front of the fireplace with their chairs turned together and engaged in a raging match of chess, complete with cheerleaders that had been conjured by Fred and George Weasley. The aforementioned Fred and George were watching the game closely. As closely as possible it is to do, that is, while at the same time gesturing to Harry to distract their brother while they switched his dessert that he'd snuck up from the Great Hall with a Canary Cream.  
  
In another corner sat Seamus Finnegan and on top of him sat Lavender Brown, who were both talking animatedly with Dean Thomas and Parvati Patil. Dean and Parvati were not sharing a seat, however much she hinted at it. Every time she inched closer (they were sharing a large couch) he inched farther away. When finally squished to the end of the couch, Parvati made a move to sit on top of him, and with a yell he jumped up and ran to the other end. Parvati followed him, and it began again.  
  
In the farthest corner from the fire, Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger sat at a table, discussing Gryffindor's chances of winning the house cup that year. Rather, Ginny was discussing and Hermione was nodding with a glazed look in her eyes. She wasn't quite paying attention, but she was agreeing with Ginny, and the girl went on, oblivious to her not-so- attentive friend's staring.  
  
Staring at what, you might ask? Hermione Granger was staring at an accident waiting to happen, and so it did.  
  
Neville Longbottom, clumsy fool extraordinaire, was doing his Potions homework, which just happened to not be theory that night. Not theory at all. It was putting that theory to use, in practical work. Neville had to make a satisfactory Boil-Reducing Potion, to be handed in the next day, or his grade was most certainly going to drop to a zero.  
  
So Hermione watched as Neville added his Porcupine quills and stirred the potion once, twice, three times in a counterclockwise fashion. So far so good...  
  
But then she saw it. The slip-up she had been waiting for that entire evening. Time seemed to slow to a stop as she watched him knock over his entire bottle of Salamander blood. Slowly it fell into the potion. Neville, noticing his mistake, grasped the Portkey the headmaster had given him in hopes of preventing loss of life if any of his potions ever exploded again.  
  
Neville was whisked away, hopefully to the hospital wing, where he could be treated for the burns he had acquired earlier that day in class.  
  
Hermione closed her eyes and clenched her teeth. Waiting for the inevitable...  
  
BOOM!  
  
The entire common room, including Hermione, emptied in seconds as the ceiling started to collapse. It was magically reinforced, but stranger things had been known to happen.  
  
But enough of that. Let's turn our focus to poor Neville, who had not, in fact, been portkeyed to the Hospital wing. Instead, he had been taken to a hallway in Hogwarts that he could not quite recall.  
  
Looking around in fear, Neville heard footsteps coming his way and froze. The footsteps came closer and closer until-  
  
"Hello? Who's there?" It was a girl's voice. She sounded younger than him and quite a bit more confident.  
  
"Neville. Longbottom, that is."  
  
"Oh?" said the girl. She seemed to be coming closer. "I've heard of you. What are you doing-" The girl came into view. "Near the Ravenclaw dorms?" The girl had scraggly, waist length blond hair and was quite odd, Neville decided. She was adorned with a butterbeer cap necklace and did not seem to notice the portraits staring and whispering as she walked by.  
  
"I was- That is to say- Well, you see-" spluttered Neville, "I got lost."  
  
"Well, that's okay, I get lost sometimes too." said the girl.  
  
"What's your name?" asked Neville.  
  
"Me?" said the girl sounding surprised. "Oh, don't worry about my name."  
  
"All right," said Neville, "but can you take me to the Gryffindor common rooms?"  
  
"Follow me." said the strange girl.  
  
"Okay," said Neville.  
  
Five moving staircases, three trick steps, and two ambushes by Peeves later, they arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady.  
  
"Thank you for leading me back here." said Neville.  
  
"Oh, no problem. If I had left you there, the Nargles might've gotten you." said the strange girl.  
  
"The what?" asked Neville, completely confused.  
  
"Oh, it's ok!" said the girl. She kissed him on the cheek and ran off.  
  
Neville put a hand up to his cheek and smiled. He turned to the Fat Lady and after a few wrong guesses with the password, walked inside, where his angry housemates awaited him.  
  
FIN 


End file.
